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| (Photo © R. Veitch) |
Zoë Gilby (vocals); Mark Williams (guitar); Andy Champion (double bass); Richard Brown (drums)
It was probably December 2019 when Blaydon Jazz Club last met at the Black Bull. December 2019...was it really that long ago? Fast forward to mid-October 2021, a Monday night, and here we were once again in the Black Bull. Familiar faces occupied their seats of choice, some things never change. On stage at eight o'clock, the fabulous Zoë Gilby!
Zoë and the boys kicked off with Cole Porter's You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To, our award-winning vocalist singing: so nice to come home to Blaydon Jazz Club! From here on in we were treated to a selection of standards and original compositions, the latter focusing upon vocal reworkings of instrumental numbers written by trumpeter/composer Tom Harrell. From Shadowed in Solitude to Forget the Past to Leap to the Limelight and Your Dear Heart, My Dear Heart, all of which feature on Zoë's Aurora album, the quartet - Mark Williams, guitar, Andy Champion, bass and Richard Brown, drums - made it look, and sound, so easy!
And that's a striking feature about the quartet: Mark and Andy are capable of stretching out in imperious fashion but, in this context, they showed commendable restraint, every note in support of Zoë's vocals. Similarly, drummer Richard Brown is what you'd call 'a listening musician', unobtrusive, in the background, but 'right there'. Some Cats Know as sung by Peggy Lee, Zoë's take on the number is as good as it gets! Travelin' Blues, the masterful Midnight Bell (it deserves to be a hit!), a tribute to two great vocalists - Doris Day (Zoë rightly suggesting Ms Day was a great singer) and Carmen McCrae - with a nice take on Secret Love.
And that was about it. The Zoë Gilby Quartet went out on the crowd-pleasing Centerpiece. Thanks to Zoë and the boys, Blaydon Jazz club is back! And it'll be back at the Black Bull on November 15 (a Monday) with the Dean Stockdale Trio. Russell
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